


What if Garnok was Good

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 02:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12288966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: AU where the Dark Riders are the good guys. Shadow belongs to Shadowlord13 and Zelda belongs to ZDusk.





	What if Garnok was Good

Shadow frowned as she once again heard her druid instructor droning on about how Garnok was bad and how they were being trained to someday save the world from him and his dark forces. Each of them, the instructor (and Fripp) believed, possessed a shard of Aideen's light within their soul. This declaration had been met with mixed reviews, some being skeptical while others were downright dismissive. There were those, though, that wholeheartedly believed in this. Shadow believed this, after all, it explained how she had these magical abilities. But the druid instructor wasn't very good at explaining the things that the druids did. Most things were, apparently, above the security clearance of the druids in training.

"Are there any questions?" the instructor asked once he'd finished his current lesson on the mission of the druids.

"Yeah, I have a question," said Shadow, raising her hand. "Why, exactly, is Garnok bad?"

"Because he tried to invade the home planet of the Horse People, he tried to flood it," said the instructor.

"And do you know why he did that?" asked Shadow.

"Because he's evil," said the instructor. "It's not exactly a difficult concept to grasp."

"Okay," said Shadow, not wanting to argue. She didn't want to make a scene when she left, after all. If she left. But if her suspicions were correct, she might just do that. After all, history was written by the victors, and the druids just couldn't answer some questions. But she knew someone who might be able to answer her questions.

"Hello, my dear Shadow," said Darko, smiling upon seeing her standing on the oil rig with a raincoat protecting her clothes and an umbrella held over her head.

"My dark prince," Shadow cooed, giving him a kiss. "I have a few questions for you."

"I cannot tell you about my work, you know that," said Darko. "Not while you are still affiliated with those druids."

"It's not about that," said Shadow. "I trust you, and you'd know better than anyone else, so... why did Garnok try to flood the planet of the Horse People?"

"Ah," said Darko. "What do the druids say?"

"They just said that he did it because he's evil," said Shadow. "And that just doesn't seem right. Even evil has motives. I mean, you do."

"Exactly," said Darko. "Come inside out of the rain, and I'll tell you."

Shadow followed him inside, where she sat down, drying her hair with a towel he'd given her, while Darko gathered his thoughts and pulled a book down from a shelf. He joined her on the couch once he'd grabbed the book, and Shadow was a little concerned. If Darko was sitting down, this must be serious.

"A long, long time ago," said Darko, his fingers rubbing over the embossed squid cover of the hardcover book, "long before either of us were born, there was a planet that no longer exists." He opened the book, and Shadow gasped, covering her mouth at the sight of a beautiful ocean planet. It didn't appear to have any land masses whatsoever, except for the ice caps. There was a name beneath the image, but Shadow couldn't figure out how to pronounce it.

"What was it called?" asked Shadow, frowning at the strange word.

"Human tongues cannot pronounce it," said Darko with a chuckle.

"But is your tongue human?" asked Shadow. Darko gave her a wicked grin.

"Well, one of my mothers is a siren, so I'll give it a go," said Darko. He opened his mouth, and a sound like rushing water came out. "Ugh, I absolutely butchered the pronunciation, but it's close enough. Perhaps my master will be able to tell you himself when he is freed."

"It always seemed weird to me that he's trapped, too," said Shadow. "If he isn't actually bad, then the druids must be."

"I haven't finished telling my tale yet," said Darko. "Long ago, there was that planet. My master lived on it, along with his people, the Squid People."

"I'm beginning to see a pattern here with these planets," said Shadow with a laugh. "The Horse People, the Squid People..."

"Yes, and here we just have humans," said Darko. "Well, they think they are the only race. What they don't know is that they share this planet with many other sentient creatures."

"Oh, I know about that," said Shadow. "So, go on. The Squid People lived on this planet, including Garnok, but what happened to make them leave?"

"Garnok was the only one who left," said Darko. "He was their leader, and, when the planet began to dry up due to their sun growing too large, he left in search of a new planet. But when he landed on the planet belonging to the Horse People, they at once feared him and attacked him. They could not understand him. He was only crying out for help, hoping that they would at least know of another planet that could sustain water-dwelling creatures. They knew of only one, but they vowed to protect it with their lives. And so Garnok had no choice but to fight back, because they only attacked him and would not listen to him."

"So this whole war is just the result of a translation issue?" asked Shadow, appalled. The poor creature had just wanted help for his people, and they'd imprisoned him for it.

"I am afraid so," said Darko. "Fortunately for our ruler, though, he managed to convince some members of the ship's crew to hijack the prison ship. Unfortunately, Fripp, who was in control of the ship, fought back."

"Was he a squirrel back then?" asked Shadow. Darko laughed.

"No, he simply possesses a squirrel's body now," said Darko. Shadow looked pale.

"Really?" asked Shadow.

"Yes," said Darko, nodding. "He was near death in his old form, and, as a cosmic being, Fripp needs to inhabit a body in order to have life. So he left the blue-furred horse person he'd once been, and instead took over the body of the nearest wildlife when the ship crashed."

"I had no idea," said Shadow. "So are the druids really the bad guys?"

"Yes," said Darko. "It is only foolish humans who assume that dark is bad and light is good. Aideen's light burns us, you know."

"Oh. So do I burn you?" asked Shadow, moving away from her boyfriend just to be safe.

"No, of course not," said Darko, cupping her face in his hand. "The fragment of light that you possess can only be channelled through your magic. The most I feel from you is a tingling sensation."

"Oh," said Shadow, relaxing. "Well, that's good. Because I don't want to hurt you."

"And you never do," said Darko, giving her a kiss. "So, now that you have this information, what will you do now?"

"I'm going to leave the Keepers of Aideen," said Shadow. "I'll tell them tomorrow."

"I hope that they let you go," said Darko, his blue eyes filled with worry. "If they do not, however, I will happily come and rescue you."

"I know you will," said Shadow, kissing him back.

Shadow's announcement that she was leaving did not go as well as she'd expected, nor did it go as badly as she'd feared. At the very least, the druids themselves did not follow her back to where she was staying. It was her friends who did that.

"Shadow, I think you're making a huge mistake," said Justin, standing in the doorway with Zelda while Shadow packed.

"Well, I don't," said Shadow. "The druids have skewed the story, Justin, they've painted Garnok as the villain in this story."

"Well, he is," said Justin. "Don't let them brainwash you, Shadow, it's too easy for them to get into your head."

"Ha, into my head? Maybe you should take a look at your leader," said Shadow. "He's not taking the form of a squirrel, he's possessing one."

"I'm sure he has his reasons," said Zelda, though she looked a little pale and uncertain at the idea.

"Yeah, and Garnok had his reasons for going to their planet," said Shadow, angrily closing her suitcase and zipping it shut. "He just wanted help, and instead of helping him, Fripp and the Horse People attacked him and then sent him off in a prison ship."

"Oh yeah, and who told you that?" asked Justin.

"Darko," said Shadow. "And I trust him."

"But you can't trust any of them, Shadow," said Zelda. "Look at what happened to Justin."

"Well, I trust my boyfriend," said Shadow. "And I'm going to live with him. Goodbye, Zelda, Justin, you've been great friends to me."

And she left, leaving her friends wondering if perhaps she'd lost it or been brainwashed as Justin had been.

Shadow hadn't expected the druids to just let her go peacefully, so she wasn't surprised at all when Justin and Zelda turned up at the docks when she went into Fort Pinta to grab some more pet supplies for Kito.

"And what about Pandoria, huh?" asked Zelda, not even bothering to sugar-coat it. "Garnok is going to unleash that, and that's gonna be really bad for Jorvik."

"No, he's not," said Shadow, turning to face them. "Darko explained everything to me. Garnok just wants to open a portal big enough to get himself into Pandoria, and one that will be stable enough to stay open for long enough to transport the Squid People there, too. It's big and empty, and there are already Manta Rays there so it can be flooded without causing damage to anyone."

"But what about Anne?" asked Justin. "She's trapped there, so if Pandoria is flooded, won't she drown?"

"Anne is trapped in a giant crystal, it'll protect her from the water," said Shadow. "And anyway, once Garnok gets what he wants, he'll let her go."

"How can you trust what he says, though?" asked Justin.

"Because when you love someone, you trust them without question," said Shadow. "But don't worry, there were a lot of questions, and he had answers to all of them."

"The seals," said Zelda. "If Garnok is so innocent, why do Soul Steeds have to die in order to free him?"

"Garnok didn't put those seals there," said Shadow. "Maybe you should be asking the druids these questions."

"And destroying Jorvik?" asked Justin. "They talked about that a lot."

"It's easier to flood a land that has no landmasses," said Shadow. "And anyway, that was his old plan. His new plan is to flood Pandoria instead."

"That makes sense," said Zelda. "But... I still don't trust any of them."

"Then I guess that makes us enemies," said Shadow, walking past them. "I really wish it didn't have to be this way."

Justin and Zelda watched her go, Justin wrapping a comforting arm around his girlfriend.

"Do you believe her?" asked Justin, rubbing her back.

"I wish I didn't," said Zelda. "I really do. But it makes sense. What about you?"

"Well, the druids didn't brainwash me or physically hurt me," said Justin. "They're trying to protect me."

"But wasn't your dad trying to protect you from the druids?" asked Zelda.

"Do you trust them or not?" asked Justin, turning her and looking her in the eyes.

"Yes," said Zelda. "Of course I trust them, they're trying to protect Jorvik and its people from dark forces. And just because Garnok is innocent, if he is, that doesn't immediately make them all good. Not in my eyes. Not after what they did to you." She wrapped her arms around him, and Justin held her close.

The ride back to the oil rig was quiet, and Shadow remained quiet until she got to the living quarters that she now shared with Darko.

"We're the good guys," Darko reminded her, stroking her hair as she sat beside him on the couch.

"I know," said Shadow. "I just wish that everyone else could see that." Darko kissed her hair.

"Me too," said Darko. "It would make things so much easier. Anne could hold open a portal for the Squid People, and it would be deep under the ocean so that water could drain in and nothing would be adversely affected."

"The ocean would be emptied," said Shadow. "So that's not a good idea."

"Hmm, good point," said Darko. "But perhaps, with you helping us, we will be able to come up with a solution that benefits everyone."

"I hope so," said Shadow. "In the meantime, I just have to accept that one day I'll have to fight my friends."

"But it is for a good cause," said Darko.

"Yes, it is," said Shadow, leaning on him and getting comfortable.


End file.
